What are management theories?
What are management theories? Management theories are a collection of ideas that recommend general rules for how to manage an organization or business. They address how supervisors implement strategies to accomplish organizational goals and how they motivate employees to perform at their highest ability.
What is the importance of management theory to contemporary managers?
Management theories help organizations to focus, communicate, and evolve. Using management theory in the workplace allows leadership to focus on their main goals. When a management style or theory is implemented, it automatically streamlines the top priorities for the organization.
Trace out the evolution of management theories. identify major landmarks in the process?
What are the stages of evolution of management thoughts?
To understand the entire concept of evolution of the management thought, the topic is divided into 4 major stages, which are as follows:
• Pre-scientific management period.
• Classical theory.
• Neo-classical theory ( or behavior approach)
• Bureaucratic Model of Max Weber.
The Pre-Scientific Management Period
The industrial revolution that took place in the 18th century had a significant impact on management as a whole. It changed how businesses, as well as individuals, raised capital; organize labor and the production of goods. Entrepreneurs had access to all the factors of production such as land, labor, and capital. Theirs was to make an effort to combine these factors to achieve a targeted goal successfully.
However, the new dimension that management took following the industrial revolution cannot be discussed without mentioning notable personalities who contributed their quarter. They were able to introduce useful ideas and approaches to give management a precise and universally acceptable direction. Here are some of them.
The Classical Theory
Prof Babbage, Robert Owens, and other names earlier mentioned can be regarded as the pioneers of management. But their contribution to the evolution of management is little. The beginning of what is known as the science of management started in the last decade of the 19th century. Names like Emerson, F.W. Taylor, H.L. Grant, and others, paved the way for the establishment of what is called scientific management.
During the classical period, management thought was focused on job content, standardization, the division of labor, and a scientific approach towards the organization. It also was closely related to the industrial revolution as well as the rise of large-scale enterprises.
The Neo-Classical Theory
This period of evolution of management thought is an improvement of the classical theory. In other words, it modified and improved upon the classical theory. For instance, Classical theory focused more on the area of job content, including the management of physical resources, while neo-classical theory gave more profound emphasis on employee relationships in the work environment.
The Bureaucratic Model
A German Sociologist called Max Weber proposed this model. And it includes a system of rules, division of labor hinged on functional specialization, legal authority, and power, the hierarchy of authority, and placement of employees based on their technical competence.
The Evolution of Management Theories
Organizations have been shaped and through the writings of several writers. Their write-up consisted of governance of kingdoms and management of humans. And these formed the literature that helped in the development of management theories. And these management models were also offered by the military, political and religious organizations.
List and discuss the modern management theories:
Modern Management Theory
Modern Management Theory was created in direct response to the Classical Management Theory that states employees are only motivated by money. The Modern Management Theory recognizes that workers are complex and have many reasons for wanting to succeed in their job. The Modern Management Theory also believes that rapidly changing technology can both cause and solve many problems in the workplace.
This theory combines mathematical analysis with an understanding of human emotions and motivation in order to create a working environment that is maximally productive. A manager using the Modern Management Theory will use statistics to measure employee performance and productivity and also try to understand what makes their employees satisfied at their jobs.
Modern Management Theory is actually comprised of three other management theories — Quantitative Theory, Systems Theory, and Contingency Theory.
Quantitative Theory
This theory based on efficiency and mathematical equations came out of the necessity for managerial excellence in World War II. This is a simple number-based theory that relies on calculating the risks, benefits, and drawbacks of any action before it is taken. This approach applies statistics, computer simulations, information models, and other quantitative techniques to the management of a company. This theory is usually not used to manage a business on its own. Instead, the Quantitative Theory must be used with more humanistic theories, in order to run a company.
Systems Theory
This theory treats companies like a living organism, with all parts necessary for the company to survive. Developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, this theory states that all parts of a company, from the CEO to the entry-level employee, must work in harmony for the company to survive. Companies using this theory think that departments and employees must work as a collective group and not an isolated unit. Synergy and interconnectedness between departments are key with this theory.
While striving for harmony between departments is important in a company, most companies don’t need to rely on synergy so much for their day-to-day functions. For example, the accounting department of a small company doesn’t need to be totally in sync with the HR department. This management theory is more of a way you can view the company, not an exact management style.
Contingency Theory
The Contingency Management Theory holds that every situation requires a different leadership style, and therefore no one theory can work for an entire office. Created by Fred Fiedler in the 1960s, this theory states that it is up to the leaders of a company to assess a situation and use the best leadership strategy. Fiedler believed there are three main variables for determining what leadership strategy to employ — organization size, technology being used, and the overall style of leadership in the company.
This theory puts a lot of responsibility on the leaders of a company. Fiedler believed that a leader’s traits directly affected how they managed people. This theory is also a more useable theory for modern workplaces, as it understands that as technology and companies change, so must the leadership styles.
Benefits of the Modern Management Theory
Modern Management Theory is a great management theory for the modern world because it recognizes and respects the changes that come with technology. This theory understands that technology changes the workplace and leaders must be able to incorporate these changes efficiently. For example, a manager that uses the Modern Management Theory will look at a development such as working from home on two fronts. They will analyze the costs and benefits of having employees work from home, and they will also ask individuals how working from home benefits their own lifestyle.
This two-pronged approach to management allows for the straight facts of hard data, and the more introspective and personal approach to leadership. This theory treats employees as complex individuals who are concerned with more than just their salary, while also allowing for some company decisions to be made by rational and statistical analysis.
Other popular management theories
Some management theories have been around for over 100 years. Here are some of the most common management theories and why they may or may not work in the modern office.
Classical Management Theory
The Classical Management Theory system of belief states that employees are only motivated by physical and economic needs. It calls for a clear structure of management where the workforce is divided into owners, middle management, and supervisors. This theory views the workplace as an assembly line, with each worker completing a specialized task instead of multitasking. People who utilize this theory believe workers are motivated by financial rewards based on the competency of their work. When companies put this theory to practical use, they will often see an increase in productivity. It can help streamline a company and make employees focus on the bottom line. However, as the theory does not consider social needs, job satisfaction, and human relationships, it can also lead to a sizable amount of burnout among employees. This model exerts a great deal of control over human behaviors and treats employees as a machine. For many companies, Classical Management Theory fell out of favor in the past 60 years as more modern theories emphasized the humanity of the workforce.
Scientific Management Theory
Fredrick Taylor came up with this theory at the end of the 19th century. He believed that using the scientific method will get the best results out of workers in the office. First, use the scientific method to determine the best way to perform a specific task. Next, you assign workers to tasks that match their abilities and train them to maximize their output. Then you must monitor the workers constantly to ensure they are using the most efficient methods. Finally, managers should spend their time training and planning for future work. Parts of the Scientific Management Theory are still in use today. Managers should offer help and advice when needed, and they should always look towards the future. However, now workers get more say about how they think their job should be done and are usually not hired to perform just one specific task. The Scientific Management Theory was best suited to large companies at the turn of the century, not small modern offices.
Bureaucratic Management Theory
The Bureaucratic Management Theory, created by Max Weber in the late 1800s, states that companies should be structured in a hierarchical system with clear rules, roles, and procedures. This theory stresses bureaucracy in six main areas — hierarchical structure, task specialization, formal selection, rules, advancement based on achievement, and an impersonal working environment. Under this theory, promotions are not about personal character or relationships, but strictly based on performance. This management theory has become less popular in the century due to its rigid structure. While in theory it makes sense for an office to have rules and standards which everyone must follow, in practice there will always be emotions and personal relationships in an office which will go against these bureaucratic guidelines.
Theory X and Theory Y
This theory, proposed by Douglas McGregor in 1960, believes that there are two main management styles and leaders must choose which style to employ based on the perceived motivation of their employees. Leaders should use Theory X when dealing with a workforce that is unmotivated and dislikes work. Managers who use Theory X must use an authoritarian work style to get anything done. Managers should use Theory Y when they believe their workforce is engaged, self-motivated, and enjoy their job. Managers who use Theory Y use a more participatory style of management. While this theory provides two different options for management, both options are quite extreme. Employees fall somewhere between Theory X and Theory Y, and managers must adjust their management style accordingly. This theory of management has become less popular over time as managers viewed their employees in less stark terms and tried to understand their employees.
Discuss in detail the impact of technology on management
Technology can improve the accuracy of planning in management by providing your managers with the data they need to make effective decisions. Technology solutions gather data from internal and external sources, store them in a data warehouse and provide managers with access via a network.
Explain the scientific management of Taylor. What is his contribution to scientific management?
Taylor's philosophy focused on the belief that making people work as hard as they could was not as efficient as optimizing the way the work was done. In 1909, Taylor published "The Principles of Scientific Management." In this, he proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. This was very different from the way work was typically done in businesses beforehand. A factory manager at that time had very little contact with the workers, and he left them on their own to produce the necessary product. There was no standardization, and a worker's main motivation was often continued employment, so there was no incentive to work as quickly or as efficiently as possible. Taylor believed that all workers were motivated by money, so he promoted the idea of "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." In other words, if a worker didn't achieve enough in a day, he didn't deserve to be paid as much as another worker who was highly productive. With a background in mechanical engineering, Taylor was very interested in efficiency. While advancing his career at a U.S. steel manufacturer, he designed workplace experiments to determine optimal performance levels. In one, he experimented with shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers to shovel for several hours straight. With bricklayers, he experimented with the various motions required and developed an efficient way to lay bricks. And he applied the scientific method to study the optimal way to do any type of workplace task. As such, he found that by calculating the time needed for the various elements of a task, he could develop the "best" way to complete that task. These "time and motion" studies also led Taylor to conclude that certain people could work more efficiently than others. These were the people whom managers should seek to hire where possible. Therefore, selecting the right people for the job was another important part of workplace efficiency. Taking what he learned from these workplace experiments, Taylor developed four principles of scientific management.
These principles are also known simply as "Taylorism".
Four Principles of Scientific Management
Taylor's four principles are as follows:
Replace working by "rule of thumb," or simple habit and common sense, and instead use the scientific method to study work and determine the most efficient way to perform specific tasks.
Rather than simply assign workers to just any job, match workers to their jobs based on capability and motivation, and train them to work at maximum efficiency.
Monitor worker performance, and provide instructions and supervision to ensure that they're using the most efficient ways of working.
Allocate the work between managers and workers so that the managers spend their time planning and training, allowing the workers to perform their tasks efficiently.
Why do you think managers have difficulty delegating?
Fear of Being Shown Up
When a person isn’t confident in her abilities to do her job, she doesn’t want to give her subordinates a chance to outperform her. If a manager delegates some of her tasks to her employees, there’s always a chance they may complete the assignment better than she can. She may fear others will notice that her staff may be more qualified for her position, and retain all responsibilities because of that perceived threat.
Absence of Trust
A manager may choose to not delegate because she doesn’t trust her staff to get the task done properly and on time. She needs to feel secure that an employee knows how to complete the task according to the established guidelines. As the assignment was initially given to her, if it’s not done properly, she will be forced to take the blame. If she can’t trust her employees to get the task done right, she may feel it’s more efficient to simply do it herself.
Lack of Time
When a person is overwhelmed by work, she doesn’t always have time to sit down and decide which of her staff members should take control of certain tasks. She may be very willing to let her employees take on some of her responsibilities, but continues to overload herself with work because she believes it’s faster to do it herself than have to teach the responsibilities to someone else.
Need for Control
A person with a strong need for control likes to have things done a very specific way. If a manager is very controlling, she may not be good at delegating because she wants to maintain a certain level of power over her staff. She may fear sharing her responsibilities with subordinates will cause her to lose some of the control she has over them. If she wants to continue to been seen as the expert on all matters, delegating could jeopardize this.
what can be done to overcome these difficulties?
Ways to Overcome Barriers to Delegation:
Barriers to delegation can be overcome through the following measures:
1. Accept the need for delegation:
When superiors are reluctant to delegate because they want to do everything themselves rather than allowing subordinates to do, they should realise the need for delegation. In fact, more the delegation, more successful will be an organisation.
Delegation multiplies the capacity of managers. What can be delegated must be delegated. Managers should do things which subordinates cannot do. This develops their core competence and also the organisation.
2. Develop confidence in subordinates:
Rather than feeling that subordinates are not capable of accepting responsibilities so that delegator does not take the risk of delegation, the delegator should understand that a man learns through mistakes and if he commits mistakes, he shall try to find out solutions to the problem also. If subordinates make mistakes, superiors should guide them rather than not delegate at all.
Trust towards subordinates develops their commitment towards superiors. Committed subordinates develop loyalty, dedication and positive contribution towards organisational growth. Delegation should be a continuous process.
Managers should appreciate the work of subordinates when they perform well. They should delegate them more tasks and express trust and confidence in them. This will boost their morale to perform better in future. Delegation will be effective in the system of rewards, not penalties.
3. Communication:
Where delegation becomes ineffective because subordinates do not have the information for making decisions, an effective system of communication should be developed so that information flows freely from superiors to subordinates. Well informed subordinates are an asset for the organisation. They can contribute to effective organisational decisions.
4. Motivation:
Subordinates should be motivated to accept the responsibilities by providing rewards (financial and non-financial) like recognition, status etc. Assigning the whole job to one person can be motivating as it reflects confidence in the subordinate. It also gives a sense of pride and satisfaction to the subordinate who works to earn the credit for successful completion of that task. Non-commitment towards work has to be converted into commitment through motivation — creating zeal, enthusiasm, ability and willingness to work.
5. Effective system of control:
Since ultimate responsibility for the work assigned is that of the delegator, he must ensure that subordinates perform well by setting achievable standards of performance against which actual performance shall be measured. Delegator should keep check on the activities of delegates rather than not delegate at all.
Though control helps in monitoring the activities of subordinates, it should not be strict in nature. Moderately lenient control system helps to achieve standards by control through exceptions. Major deviations should be spotted by managers and minor deviations should be corrected by the subordinates themselves. Control helps in avoiding misuse of delegated authority.
6. Choose the right person for the right job:
Lack of confidence in subordinates should be overcome by dividing the workload into sub-units and assigning each sub-unit to persons most suitable for performing them. The person selected should be able to perform the task assigned. If required, training facilities can be provided to increase their understanding of the work. Wrong selection of delegates can put the organisational operations to halt.
7. Freedom to subordinates:
When managers accept the need for delegation, they must also give freedom to make decisions with respect to the delegated tasks. Rather than not delegating at all or delegating less responsibility, for the fear of subordinates making mistakes, managers should give them authority to find solutions to their problems and learn not to make mistakes in future.
8. Clarity of tasks:
The responsibilities or the tasks delegated must be clearly defined in terms of results expected out of those tasks. Knowing what is exactly expected of them will enable the subordinates perform the delegated tasks better. Delegation is not done without purpose. It has to be properly planned to the objectives desired to be achieved through delegation. Delegation should be done to achieve specific results.
9. Match job with the abilities of subordinates:
‘Round pegs in the round holes’ makes delegation effective as the right job will be given to the right person. The task assigned should match the ability and the capacity of subordinates.
10. Open communication:
Though delegatees are given the authority to solve problems related to the assigned tasks, yet, they should be allowed to freely discuss the problems with their delegators. Open communication promotes delegation as both delegator and delegatees can trust each other, explain their reservations, develop confidence and security and make the need for delegation felt important for both. Work is delegated and also performed well — to the best of subordinate’s ability.
11. Monitor the critical deviations:
Subordinates may make mistakes, however efficient they are at work. The superiors should overlook minor deviations and monitor only major deviations in the tasks assigned. This promotes a sense of responsibility amongst the employees.
What are the benefits of delegation?
Below are the 4 benefits of delegation:
1. It keeps you from putting too many irons in the proverbial fire
Today’s leaders and managers are driven to succeed, and for this reason, they often take on more projects than they can handle alone. The fear of failure drives them to avoid delegation for fear that someone else will not get the job done correctly. When managers are juggling priorities at the same time, they are more likely to make mistakes. Delegating tasks to the right individuals is important in this case since it allows managers and leaders to focus on planning and organizing.
2. It builds trust, open communication, and engagement among team members
Another benefit of delegation has to do with building trust, a feeling of openness, and engagement among team members. Leaders who fail to delegate adequately often have employees who are afraid to take initiative or who feel apprehensive about bringing new ideas to the table. Managers who delegate tasks adequately help to build trust, and that trust is driven even further when those managers remain open for communication and listening. When employees truly feel that their skills and talents are being put to good use, they are engaged and happier overall.
3. It stimulates creativity and develops skills in your team
Leaders who give their team members the freedom to tackle delegated tasks in their own way are actually empowering their team and giving them a creative license. These employees become driven to succeed, not only for themselves and their own futures, but also for the future of their employer. What’s more, this personal initiative can lead to creativity breakthroughs, which can benefit everyone involved, and it helps team members build some very specific skills along the way.
4. It creates a positive business culture
Perhaps the best reason to delegate tasks to others has to do with the type of business culture a leader hopes to create. Delegation helps to boost team moral, improve efficiency and productivity, and promotes enthusiasm, innovation, and cooperation – all of which are vital to a company’s bottom line.
How can a manager delegate without losing control?
Choose what tasks you are willing to delegate. You should be using your time on the most critical tasks for the business, and the tasks that only you can do. Delegate what you can’t do, and what doesn’t interest you. For example, non-computer types should consider delegating their social media, website, and SEO activities.
Pick the best person to delegate to. Listen and observe. Learn the traits, values, and characteristics of those who will perform well when you delegate to them. That means give the work to people who deliver, not the people who are the least busy. This requires hiring people with the right skills, not the least expensive or friends and family.
Trust those to whom you delegate. It always starts with trust. Along with trust, you also have to give the people to whom you delegate the chance to do a job their way. Of course the work must be done well, but your way or the highway is not the right way.
Give clear assignments and instructions. The key is striking the right balance between explaining so much detail that the listener is insulted, and not explaining enough for someone to grasp what is expected. Think back to when you were learning, when you were a neophyte.
Set a definite task completion date and a follow-up system. Establish a specific deadline at the beginning, with milestones. In this way you can check up on progress before the final deadline, without fuzzy questions like “How are you doing?”
Give public and written credit. This is the simplest step, but one of the hardest for many people to learn. It will inspire loyalty, provide real satisfaction for work done, and become the basis for mentoring and performance reviews.
Delegate responsibility and authority, not just the task. Managers who fail to delegate responsibility in addition to specific tasks eventually find themselves reporting to their subordinates and doing some of the work, rather than vice versa.
Avoid reverse delegation. Some team members try to give a task back to the manager, if they don’t feel comfortable, or are attempting to dodge responsibility. Don’t accept it except in extreme cases. In the long run, every team member needs to learn or leave.
in your own opinion what are the best management practices that can bring about employees committment and productivity?
1. Set economic incentives
Who doesn’t like to receive a financial incentive for the extra effort they make to improve a company’s reputation? The sad fact is that most of an organization’s economic incentives are just for their senior level employees or management teams. Although there is no doubt that they are an integral part of your organization and devote much of their time to handle all routine processes; there is no point in ignoring employee engagement at the lower levels.
If you expect your lower level team members to work diligently to ensure the success of your business, it is essential to provide them some financial incentives for all the good work they do. It may appear to be a costly undertaking, but in the long run, you will see returns on your investment as your employees will be happier and more productive.
2. Constructive feedback
There is no doubt to say that feedback is an essential tool all leaders should take advantage of – they should provide candid feedback from time to time. First, though, it is crucial to design a proper feedback strategy. The focus should be on empowerment, not discouragement. Your employees must feel motivated to work hard for your company while receiving continuous feedback from your management team.
If you’re going to single out employees based on stats, it might be counterproductive to mention those metrics to them directly. On one hand, some employees might appreciate the hard number on what they’ve accomplished. On the other hand, some employees might feel like you’re micromanaging them, which could end up being a strain on their mental health.
We understand that it is not always possible to provide positive feedback to all employees, but the way you communicate the details to the person can make a huge difference. Whether you want to show appreciation to an employee, or provide feedback on a correction that needs to be made; the feedback must be given with a positive attitude.
3. Give and show respect
No matter what kind of job an employee handles at your premises, they deserve your respect. Management must have excellent team building skills and leave a positive impact on every person. Instead of underappreciating your employees; showing respect and understanding is a vital step to increase employee productivity. And don’t forget, without them your business would not exist.
Productive employees feel connected and respected at their place of business. They go to work with a positive mindset, and naturally boost their company’s performance. To ensure the success of your business, first, it is essential to show genuine respect to everyone working for you.
4. Train your management team
It is important to ensure that leaders at all levels are trained adequately to manage the premises. They must understand and implement leadership skills daily to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently.
This training is not just for higher level leaders but must be focused on middle managers and supervisors as well. Once all of your leaders are trained on their responsibilities, they will be able to manage their teams with confidence and accuracy. It is one of the best tactics to enhance the productivity of an entire organization.
5. Provide support when needed
There are many situations when employees will need help from their management team or organization. Good support must always be provided to boost their morale and build a relationship of mutual respect. Employees may need assistance in several forms; such as emotional support, an ally when mistreated, motivational support at tough times in life, and flexible support to maintain a work-life balance.
Not all employees will have the initiative and comfort to approach you for this – so don’t forget to check in with your team every now and then.
When employees get support from their management teams at tough times, it is never forgotten. It builds loyalty and goodwill among employees, and they work with more dedication – helping to ensure your company meets its bottom line.
6. Use employee time clock software
To improve the process of work schedule creation and to properly manage records of employee work hours, organizations are advised to take advantage of employee time management software. There are many such real-time tracking tools online, and they can help complete several tasks, which include PTO management, employee scheduling, and monitoring of hours worked.
Employee time clock software adds a unique benefit to both you and your employees – you can both guarantee hours worked are accurate. This provides your business with the peace of mind that there is on time theft occurring, and it enhances the satisfaction levels in employees as they know they will get paid accurately for their hours worked. You get to boost employee productivity, and your team gets to focus on optimizing their workflow.
Employee time clock software also helps to record overtime and any extra work hours so that accountability can be improved. No matter what kind of business you are running, employee time clock software will be beneficial to both you and your employees – and it can even be easily adapted for remote work.
7. Effective communication
Every manager needs to know that communication is key to a productive and efficient workforce. The great news is that technology has made it possible to contact each other with just a few swipes on the screen. However, this doesn’t mean that new communication methods are always the most efficient. A recent study reveals that emails can take up almost 28% of the employee time that could be otherwise utilized on another task.
Rather than using email, it is better to find a reliable and flexible method for communication. Big business brands prefer to use dedicated team management and communication software, such as Slack and other professional social media, where they can convey all essential details instantly. Not only does this communication method promote and improve collaboration, but allows such collaboration at lightning speed.
Discuss why work diversity is important to modern management school of thoughts?
Employees from diverse backgrounds can bring fresh perspectives to the table, leading to enhanced creativity and innovation. This can result in better problem-solving and decision-making, suggests the Harvard Business Review.
Foster Innovation in Your Company
Innovation stems from the ability to approach an issue and find solutions from different perspectives. When you have a team of people with different skills, life experiences and cultural backgrounds, you are more likely to get fresh, new ideas. As a manager, you can leverage each individual's strengths and bring them together to work toward a common goal.
The Harvard Business Review conducted an experiment to determine how six different teams responded to new, uncertain and complex situations. The groups that scored highest were more cognitively diverse than those that took longer or failed to complete the challenge. As the researchers note, higher cognitive diversity may lead to greater performance and faster learning. These factors spark creativity and innovation.
When multiple voices and personalities come together, you get a fresh perspective on the task at hand. This can lead to higher productivity and strengthen your competitive advantage. On top of that, you have access to a wider talent pool. Someone on your team may be great at generating ideas, while another individual may have the skills and experience to execute them.
Increase Sales and Revenue
In 2018, the Harvard Business Review reached an unexpected conclusion after analyzing the financial performance of venture capitalists. As it turns out, diversity may improve fund returns and lead to more profitable investments. Researchers point out that only 8 percent of venture capitalists are women, and fewer than 1 percent of investors are African Americans. In general, venture capitalist professionals are more likely to team up with people who share their race, gender or educational background.
The acquisition success rate for investments by partners from different school backgrounds was 11.5 percent higher than that of those who studied at the same schools. Furthermore, partners from different ethnic backgrounds had 26.4 to 32.2 percent greater success rates than those of the same ethnicity. These findings confirm that diversity has a substantial impact on financial performance.
One of the primary benefits of diversity in the workplace is that it improves employee morale and engagement. This factor alone can lead to higher productivity and revenue. Additionally, having a diverse team can strengthen your brand and make it more appealing to potential clients. You are also better able to understand your customers and target your marketing efforts toward diverse audiences from different social, ethnic and racial backgrounds.
Attract and Retain Talent
A diverse workplace is essential for organizations that are looking to attract and retain talent. According to Deloitte, millennials tend to stay longer with companies that understand the needs of a diverse workforce. Compared to the previous generations, these people have grown up with the idea that diversity and inclusion are crucial. Therefore, they take these aspects into account when making a job decision.
Striving for a diverse workforce can make your company more appealing to job seekers and existing employees alike. Organizations that embrace this approach are seen as socially responsible and have a better reputation. Accenture, Novartis, Gap, L'Oreal and Nestle are just a few examples, according to the Diversity and Inclusion Index published on the Thomson Reuters website.
For example, nearly half of all new hires and one-third of executives at Accenture are women. The company has more than 513,000 employees in 120 countries, fostering a culture of equality. As a small-business owner, you can start by reaching out to specific communities through business networks and social media. Another option is to team up with agencies that help expats and immigrants integrate into their new communities.
When you find the right people, provide them with the tools they need to succeed in their roles. Employees with disabilities, for example, may require height-adjustable desks, one-hand keyboards or speech recognition programs.
Empower and Engage Your Employees
The benefits of diversity in the workplace go beyond brand recognition and higher profits. Building a diverse culture in your organization may also provide new opportunities for your current employees. They have the chance to see things from a different perspective, learn about other cultures, and discover new approaches to work. It's a truly enriching experiencing that can help them grow as individuals and professionals.
A diverse workplace may also increase employee engagement and morale. Employees who feel engaged become more involved in their work and deliver better results. A survey conducted by Salesforce Research revealed that people take pride in working for companies that have a positive impact on the local community and provide equal opportunities for employees. Respondents also showed interest in organizations that foster an inclusive culture and care about closing the gender pay gap.
Diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. An inclusive workplace is one where every person is heard, valued and respected. As a manager, you need to prioritize inclusion – not just diversity – to engage and empower your team. A strong diversity and inclusion program can improve knowledge sharing, decrease turnover and increase loyalty.
To achieve these outcomes, make sure that everyone's voice is heard and show your employees that you respect their traditions and backgrounds. You may also organize inclusion awareness events and training activities focused on diversity and inclusion. Implement these initiatives at all levels of the organization, starting from the top.
New Questions:
ignoring diversity issues cost time, money and efficiency. Discuss the consequences of ignoring workplace diversity in organization
Ignoring diversity presents greater risk than pursuing and valuing diversity. Well-planned and executed diversity initiatives can create invaluable benefits, including the recruitment, retention and promotion of the best available talent; increased productivity, creativity and strategic vision; and even enhanced customer relationships.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of workplace diversity to a manager
Advantage: Better Financial Results
Numerous studies have found that companies with diverse teams are more profitable than homogenous businesses. A 2015 McKinsey report on public companies noted that those with the most ethnic and racial diversity in their management were 35 percent more likely to be financially successful.
Advantage: Global-Level Competition
Millions of Americans are employed by foreign-owned companies. We live in a global economy, and the companies that consistently top the Fortune 500 list are global in nature. Companies need to employ people who represent diverse populations and points of view to compete on this world stage. What sells in small-town America may not fly in the cities of the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, if you understand the culture and the economies of each, maybe it will
Advantage: Fact-Based Decision-Making
Studies have found that diverse groups tend to focus on facts when making decisions. They look beyond old-school ways of thinking and examine and re-examine facts to remain objective, thus making better decisions for their company. Nonhomogeneous groups are more able than homogenous groups to identify their biases and work to keep them at bay when making important business decisions.
Advantage: Creative and Innovative Thinking
If everyone acts and thinks alike, you’re likely to see the same-old, same-old when it comes to approaches to products, distribution, marketing, management and sales. However, when several people approach problems and challenges from varied perspectives, you’ll discover more creative solutions. Research suggests that diversity increases innovation and improves market growth.
Advantage: Cross-Cultural Understanding
While homogenous groups may naturally get along better, in an increasingly diverse world, cross-cultural understanding creates a better working environment and a better world. Rather than relying on a crutch of old world prejudices and misconceptions, diverse work groups improve internal climates and external results for businesses.
Disadvantage: Difficulty in Transitioning
If your company is just beginning to recognize the potential of diversification, there will likely be challenges to creating a more diverse work environment. Old ways of thinking and entrenched prejudices may hinder your efforts and create tension and conflict. Additionally, as cultures collide, there may be misinterpretations of meanings. What’s funny to one culture may be considered disrespectful to another. Management needs to buy in and educate employees across the board if workplace diversity is to have its first measure of success.
Disadvantage: Short-Term Cost Outlay
Depending on how long you’ve been in business, you may have already learned a great deal about accommodations in the workplace. Just as the Americans with Disabilities Act brought significant changes to some businesses at a financial cost, so will diversity require some flexibility. For example, if you have employees who are practicing Muslims, you’ll need to give them time and space for daily prayer. Transgender employees may need their own bathrooms. As your employees become more diverse, you may face associated costs that you hadn’t considered.
Although the transition to a diverse workplace can be difficult, employers across the country and the globe are making moves to diversify. They’re finding it’s worth the effort and the investment and that the results are both morally and financially rewarding.
Q: Discuss in detail the classical theory of organization
A: The classical theory views organizations as machines and human beings as parts of the machine. Therefore, classical theorists believed that the efficiency of the organization improves with the efficiency of human beings. However, this theory takes a rigid and static view of organizations. Also, it focuses more on the structural and technological aspects of an organization with the assumption that it does not interact with its environment. Finally, the theory is based on mechanistic and oversimplified assumptions. These aspects led to the criticism of the Classical theory.
Q: Compare and contrast transformational leadership with transactional leadership. In your opinion, which one should be adopted in Nigeria?
A: A transformational leadership style creates a vision and inspires subordinates to strive beyond required expectations, whereas transactional leadership focuses more on extrinsic motivation for the performance of job tasks. Transformational leadership is akin to charismatic or visionary leadership. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate followers in ways that go beyond exchanges and rewards. Transformational leadership operates especially well in close supervisory relationships, compared with more distant relationships , and closer supervision is often more typical in mental health settings. This close relationship may be typical of a supervisor-supervisee relationship and is also captured in the notion of “first-level leaders” , who are thought to be important because of their functional proximity to supervisees in an organizational setting. Transformational leadership is thought to increase the follower’s intrinsic motivation through the expression of the value and importance of the leader’s goals .
In contrast, transactional leadership is based more on “exchanges” between the leader and follower, in which followers are rewarded for meeting specific goals or performance criteria. Rewards and positive reinforcement are provided or mediated by the leader. Thus transactional leadership is more practical in nature because of its emphasis on meeting specific targets or objectives. An effective transactional leader is able to recognize and reward followers’ accomplishments in a timely way. However, subordinates of transactional leaders are not necessarily expected to think innovatively and may be monitored on the basis of predetermined criteria. Poor transactional leaders may be less likely to anticipate problems and to intervene before problems come to the fore, whereas more effective transactional leaders take appropriate action in a timely manner.
Q: Write a short note on the following:
Classical school of thought:
The Classical school, which is regarded as the first school of economic thought, is associated with the 18th Century Scottish economist Adam Smith, and those British economists that followed, such as Robert Malthus and David Ricardo. The classical school of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional, fits the crime, and is carried out promptly. The main idea of the Classical school was that markets work best when they are left alone, and that there is nothing but the smallest role for government. The approach is firmly one of laissez-faire and a strong belief in the efficiency of free markets to generate economic development. Markets should be left to work because the price mechanism acts as a powerful ‘invisible hand’ to allocate resources to where they are best employed.
In terms of explaining value, the focus of classical thinking was that it was determined mainly by scarcity and costs of production.
In terms of the macro-economy, the Classical economists assumed that the economy would always return to the full-employment level of real output through an automatic self-adjustment mechanism.
Behavioral school of thought:
Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little influence on behavior. The behavioral school of thought, or behaviorism, was the dominant school of psychology in the 50’s, and became famous as a reaction to the highly unscientific, speculative, and subjective views of the psychoanalytic school of thought created by Sigmund Freud.
Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior, as opposed to internal drives and thoughts by other schools of psychology. These observable behaviors are believed to be caused by environmental causes. These stimuli in our environment then shape our behavior and, subsequently, our personality.
Behaviorists believe that for psychology to progress as a science, it has to be strictly empirical, the same way physics or chemistry is. This means letting go of concepts such as drives, motivations, thinking, and emotions, among others, which are abstract, subjective concepts that cannot be quantified.
The systems school of thought:
The systems school focuses on understanding the organization as an open system that transforms inputs into outputs. This school is based on the work of a biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, who believed that a general systems model could be used to unite science.
The systems school began to have a strong impact on management thought in the 1960s as a way of thinking about managing techniques that would allow managers to relate different specialties and parts of the company to one another, as well as to external environmental factors. The systems school focuses on the organization as a whole, its interaction with the environment, and its need to achieve equilibrium. General systems theory received a great deal of attention in the 1960s, but its influence on management thought has diminished somewhat. It has been criticized as too abstract and too complex. However, many of the ideas inherent in the systems school formed the basis for the contingency school of management.
Q: list five benefits of good planning to an organization
A:
• Gives an organization a sense of direction. ...
• Focuses attention on objectives and results. ...
• Establishes a basis for teamwork. ...
• Helps anticipate problems and cope with change. ...
• Provides guidelines for decision making.
Q: explain the term planning and the importance of planning to a manager
A: Planning enables a manager to look forward and take appropriate steps to deal with future uncertainties and changes. Mishappenings and uncertain events cannot be eliminated completely but their effect on the organisation can be minimised with proper planning. Planning is the first and most important function of management. It is needed at every level of management. In the absence of planning all the business activities of the organisation will become meaningless. The importance of planning has increased all the more in view of the increasing size of organisations and their complexities.
(2) Planning Reduces Risks of Uncertainty:
(3) Planning Reduces Overlapping and Wasteful Activities:
Under planning, future activities are planned in order to achieve objectives. Consequently, the problems of when, where, what and why are almost decided. This puts an end to disorder and suspicion. In such a situation coordination is established among different activities and departments. It puts an end to overlapping and wasteful activities.
(4) Planning Promotes Innovative Ideas:
It is clear that planning selects the best alternative out of the many available. All these alternatives do not come to the manager on their own, but they have to be discovered. While making such an effort of discovery, many new ideas emerge and they are studied intensively in order to determine the best out of them.
(5) Planning Facilitates Decision Making:
Decision making means the process of taking decisions. Under it, a variety of alternatives are discovered and the best alternative is chosen. The planning sets the target for decision making. It also lays down the criteria for evaluating courses of action. In this way, planning facilitates decision making.
(6) Planning Establishes Standards for Controlling:
By determining the objectives of the organisation through planning all the people working in the organisation and all the departments are informed about ‘when’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ to do things.
Standards are laid down about their work, time and cost, etc. Under controlling, at the time of completing the work, the actual work done is compared with the standard work and deviations are found out and if the work has not been done as desired the person concerned are held responsible.
Write a short note on the following:
Technical skills: Technical skills are sets of abilities or knowledge used to perform practical tasks in the areas of science, the arts, technology, engineering, and math. Technical skills typically require the use of certain tools and the technologies required to use those tools.
Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills are often referred to as people skills, social skills, or social intelligence. They involve reading the signals that others send and interpreting them accurately in order to form effective responses. Individuals show their interpersonal skills all the time simply by interacting with others.
Conceptual skills: Conceptual skills are thinking skills which let you grasp complex ideas and come up with answers for difficult problems. These skills are valuable because they allow people to find many solutions for different challenges through deliberate thought and abstract reasoning
Political skill: Political skill is a measure of how good a business leader is at negotiating interactions with partners, employees, and customers. Political skill refers to “the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways
Emotional skills: Emotional skills refer to the ability to recognise, express and regulate your emotions. Emotional skills are the foundation of self-awareness and good mental health. Recognising and understanding your emotions also helps to recognise those of other people, which is an integral part of how we interact with others.
what is management techniques?
A management technique is 'a recognised method of analysing or solving a recognised type of management problem in a detailed, systematic way'. A management problem is any situation in which a manager has to take a management decision.
Q: discuss in detail the process of management system
A process management system is a methodology typically used to plan, monitor, and manage a business process. The term process management is used to explain all the steps followed to gain a better understanding of client requirements, and determine the most cost-effective way to meet these needs. It is important to note that a process management system can be either a series of steps and tasks, or a computer software system. Regardless of the type of system, there are a series of specific tasks and steps that usually must be completed.
Each process management system typically involves six tasks, all of which must be completed in order. The first task is to define the process, understand the needs of the client, as well as the risks and challenges to the organization in meeting those needs. A clearly defined process usually is essential as the team of business analysts will return to this item continually during the length of the project.
Fayol identifies fourteen universal principles of management, which are aimed at showing managers how to carry out their functional duties.
S.No Universal principles of management Managers Functional Duties
1 Specialization of labor This improves the efficiency of labor through specialization, reducing labor time and increasing skill development.
2 Authority This is the right to give orders which always carry responsibility commensurate with its privileges.
3 Discipline It relies on respect for the rules, policies, and agreements that govern an organization. Fayol ordains that discipline requires good superiors at all levels.
4 Unity of command This means that subordinates should receive orders from one superior only, thus avoiding confusion and conflict.
5 Unity of direction This means that there should be unity in the directions given by a boss to his subordinates. There should not be any conflict in the directions given by a boss.
6 Subordination of individual interest to common good According to this principle, the needs of individuals and groups within an organization should not take precedence over the needs of the organization as a whole.
7 Remuneration Wages should be equitable and satisfactory to employees and superiors.
8 Centralization Levels at which decisions are to be made should depend on the specific situation, no level of centralization or decentralization is ideal for all situations.
9 Scale of chain The relationship among all levels in the organizational hierarchy and exact lines of authority should be unmistakably clear and usually followed at all times, excepting special circumstances when some departure might be necessary.
10 Order There should be a place for everything, and everything should be in its place. This is essentially a principle of organization in the arrangement of things and people.
11 Equity Employees should be treated equitably in order to elicit loyalty and devotion from personnel.
12 Personal tenure Views unnecessary turnover to be both the cause and the effect of bad management; Fayol points out its danger and costs.
13 Initiative Subordinates should be encouraged to conceive and carryout ideas.
14 Esprit de corps Team work, a sense of unity and togetherness, should be fostered and maintained.
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